“It’s one thing to write a song, it’s another thing to actually be actively involved in lobbying and rallying people around the idea,” said George. People could see by singing this song that it’s gonna be a national holiday at some point soon.”īut Wonder’s role in the MLK Day movement went beyond “Happy Birthday.” “It was important because it was something that people could hold on to. advocating for making Martin Luther King’s birthday a holiday,” said Knight. And no doubt, “Happy Birthday” had an impact in making it happen.Ĥ Coretta Scott King and Stevie Wonder celebrate at the Capitol after the bill passes declaring Martin Luther King’s birthday a federal holiday on Nov. That dream would finally become reality 15 years later in November 1983, when President Ronald Reagan signed a bill making the third Monday in January a federal holiday honoring the civil rights leader effective Jan. Day four days after King was assassinated in April 1968. The Detroit native also had a hometown connection with longtime Michigan Congressman John Conyers, who first introduced legislation for Martin Luther King Jr. Wonder was also a child of Motown, a black-owned label, which released King’s “I Have a Dream” speech on an album called “The Great March on Washington” in 1963. He was a child of the civil rights movement.” So Stevie was someone who had a very evolved political consciousness. But even as an adolescent, he recorded a version of ‘Blowin’ in the Wind,’ the Bob Dylan song. “When King was assassinated, I believe he was about 18. Wonder came by his activism as “a product of the ’60s,” said George. “It’s not a political song that would scare people - it’s a political song that’s a singalong song,” said George. The music - a rubbery groove percolating with joyful gospel spirit - made the message hard to deny. It was a really nice thing to see Stevie leverage his cultural authority in pursuit of this.” Politics and social commentary had always been part of his music, so when he got involved in this it wasn’t out of character. He was without a doubt the preeminent black artist in America and arguably the preeminent music artist in America. “The thing that people probably don’t know who are younger now is how big Stevie was at that time. I was covering it because it was a music story Stevie,” said the author, filmmaker and culture critic. “I had just started work at Record World magazine. Alamy Stock Photoīrooklyn native Nelson George, 63, took the Amtrak train down from New York to DC to join the masses. Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King III - Wonder made his biggest statement when he sang “Happy Birthday.”Ĥ “Happy Birthday” debuted on Wonder’s 1980 album Hotter Than July. King was a champion for justice and liberty.”īut for many in attendance - including African-American stars such as Diana Ross, Gladys Knight and Gil Scott-Heron, as well as civil rights activists such as the Rev. Designating his birthday a national holiday would create an event for all Americans, for Dr. In his speech delivered that day, Wonder said, “We ought to have a way to honor this human being and reaffirm the ideals he lived and died for. More than 25,000 people descended upon the National Mall, marching from the Capitol to the Washington Monument in the quest for MLK Day. The song - with its jubilant “Happy birthday to ya!” chorus - has been sung at countless birthday celebrations in the 40 years since it was released as a single in 1981 after first appearing on Wonder’s 1980 album “Hotter Than July.”īut the R&B legend gave perhaps the most important performance of the tribute tune at a Washington, DC rally he spearheaded, which was held on King’s birthday, Jan. Reinventing the “Happy Birthday” song is kind of like reinventing the “ABC’s.”īut that’s exactly what the genius of Stevie Wonder accomplished with his “Happy Birthday” classic that became the anthem of the movement to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday. Martin Luther King Jr.: The best of America King’s impact on Black athletes during the Civil Rights Movementĭear Abby: None of my coworkers remembered my birthday and my manager made me cry Dexter Scott King, son of Martin Luther King Jr., dead at 62 after battling prostate cancerĭr.
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